John S. Raniolo, DO

Life-threatening heart failure associated with itraconazoleantifungal therapy developed in a patient with disseminatedCoccidioides immitis infection. This was documented bycardiac studies that demonstrated a deterioration of cardiacfunction during therapy and an improvement after itraconazoletherapy was discontinued. Heart failure associatedwith itraconazole can be missed by those unfamiliar with thiscomplication. In any patient with a fungal infection who isbeing treated with itraconazole, this serious complication canoccur; however, it can be reversible with discontinuation ofthe drug. [Infect Med. 2008;25:292-293]